The effect of operational sex ratio on sex allocation and neonate phenotype in a viviparous lizard Eremias multiocellata

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 485-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Long Tang ◽  
Feng Yue ◽  
De-Jiu Zhang ◽  
Xue-Feng Yan ◽  
Ying Xin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Maternal Investment ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Allocation Theory ◽  
Female Investment ◽  
Eremias Multiocellata

Maternal investment in the production of male versus female neonates was approximately equal in most animal species. However, sex allocation theory predicts that under certain conditions, selection may favor the females’ ability to adjust the sex ratio of their offspring, which females tend to use more for an investment of the rare sex. The mechanism of operational sex ratio (OSR) influence on sex allocation is still unclear, and recent studies conducted on lizards have reached conflicting conclusions. Here, we selected a viviparous lizard Eremias multiocellata to test whether pregnant females could adjust the sex ratio of their offspring in response to OSRs. Our results showed that mothers did not adjust the sex ratios or phenotypes of neonates in the laboratory and field-based experiments, except tail length. However, the OSRs subsequently affected growth in both mass and SVL of the offspring in laboratory experiments; whereas only the mass was affected in the semi-nature field experiments. Our results, thus, contradict the predictions of sex allocation theory and challenge the idea that female investment in the scarcity sex might serve as a mechanism which is used for adjusting the population sex ratio.

Female-biased sex ratio of immature loggerhead sea turtles inhabiting the Atlantic coastal waters of Florida

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 2973-2977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thane Wibbels ◽  
R. Erik Martin ◽  
David W. Owens ◽  
Max S. Amoss Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
The United States ◽  
Loggerhead Sea Turtles ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Sex Allocation Theory ◽  
Biased Sex Ratio ◽  
Atlantic Coastal

The sex ratio of immature loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, inhabiting the Atlantic coastal waters of Florida was investigated. Blood samples were obtained from 223 turtles that were captured in the intake channel of a power plant on Hutchinson Island. A serum androgen sexing technique was utilized to sex individual turtles. The sex ratio of the turtles (2.1 female: 1.0 male) differed significantly from 1:1 and thus appears to differ from predictions of sex allocation theory. These observations are consistent with those of a previous study, and collectively the results suggest that the sex ratio of immature C. caretta inhabiting the Atlantic coastal waters of the United States is significantly female biased: approximately two females per male.

Sex ratio variation in the yuma bat (Myotis yumanensis)

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 937-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry N. Milligan ◽  
R. Mark Brigham
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Maternal Age ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Ratio Variation ◽  
Sex Allocation Theory

Sex allocation theory predicts that monomorphic species should produce natal sex ratios near unity. We measured natal sex ratios in a maternity colony of approximately 1600 yuma bats (Myotis yumanensis) near Squilax, British Columbia, during June and July 1991. Overall, the natal sex ratio did not differ from unity but the sex ratio did vary significantly throughout the summer. Variation appears to be related to an interaction between maternal age and date of birth. This evidence suggests that facultative manipulation of the sex of the offspring by individual females may occur within the population.

Sexual size dimorphism and food requirements of nestling birds

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 2541-2545 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Anderson ◽  
Jo Reeve ◽  
Juan E. Martinez Gomez ◽  
Wesley W. Weathers ◽  
Siobhan Hutson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Difference ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
American Kestrels ◽  
Sex Allocation Theory ◽  
Strong Positive Association ◽  
And Gender

The food requirements of dependent sons and daughters have important implications for evolution of the sex ratio, according to current sex allocation theory. We studied food requirements of nestling American kestrels (Falco sparverius), a moderately size-dimorphic falcon, by hand-feeding 61 birds from hatching to fledging. Daughters, the larger gender, consumed 6.99% more food than did sons. Sons did not have higher energy expenditure from higher effort during sibling competition than daughters did, so parents must supply more food to satisfy daughters' needs than to satisfy sons'. A review of all related studies shows a strong positive association between the degree of sexual size dimorphism and gender difference in food requirements.

scholarly journals Reproducing lizards modify sex allocation in response to operational sex ratios

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A Warner ◽  
Richard Shine
Keyword(s):  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Sexual Competition ◽  
Amphibolurus Muricatus ◽  
Offspring Sex ◽  
Sex Allocation Theory ◽  
Experimental Trials ◽  
Direction Opposite ◽  
Operational Sex Ratios

Sex-allocation theory suggests that selection may favour maternal skewing of offspring sex ratios if the fitness return from producing a son differs from that for producing a daughter. The operational sex ratio (OSR) may provide information about this potential fitness differential. Previous studies have reached conflicting conclusions about whether or not OSR influences sex allocation in viviparous lizards. Our experimental trials with oviparous lizards ( Amphibolurus muricatus ) showed that OSR influenced offspring sex ratios, but in a direction opposite to that predicted by theory: females kept in male-biased enclosures overproduced sons rather than daughters (i.e. overproduced the more abundant sex). This response may enhance fitness if local OSRs predict survival probabilities of offspring of each sex, rather than the intensity of sexual competition.

scholarly journals Extra-pair young in house wren broods are more likely to be male than female

2009 ◽  
Vol 276 (1665) ◽  
pp. 2285-2289 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Scott Johnson ◽  
Charles F. Thompson ◽  
Scott K. Sakaluk ◽  
Markus Neuhäuser ◽  
Bonnie G.P. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
House Wren ◽  
Cavity Nesting ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
Pair Mating ◽  
Sex Allocation Theory ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Extra Pair Mating ◽  
The Relationship

Sex-allocation theory predicts that females should preferentially produce offspring of the sex with greater fitness potential. In socially monogamous animal species, extra-pair mating often increases the variance in fitness of sons relative to daughters. Thus, in situations where offspring sired by a female's extra-pair mate(s) will typically have greater fitness potential than offspring sired by the within-pair mate, sex-allocation theory predicts that females will bias the sex of offspring sired by extra-pair mates towards male. We examined the relationship between offspring sex and paternity over six breeding seasons in an Illinois population of the house wren ( Troglodytes aedon ), a cavity-nesting songbird. Out of the 2345 nestlings that had both sex and paternity assigned, 350 (15%) were sired by extra-pair males. The sex ratio of extra-pair offspring, 0.534, was significantly greater than the sex ratio of within-pair offspring, 0.492, representing an increase of 8.5 per cent in the proportion of sons produced. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed report of female birds increasing their production of sons in association with extra-pair fertilization. Our results are consistent with the oft-mentioned hypothesis that females engage in extra-pair mating to increase offspring quality.

scholarly journals Importance of breeding season and maternal investment in studies of sex-ratio adjustment: a case study using tree swallows

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renaud Baeta ◽  
Marc Bélisle ◽  
Dany Garant
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Maternal Investment ◽  
Tree Swallows ◽  
Maternal Characteristics ◽  
Primary Sex Ratio ◽  
Brood Sex Ratio ◽  
Allocation Patterns ◽  
Sex Ratio Adjustment

The control of primary sex-ratio by vertebrates has become a major focus in biology in recent years. Evolutionary theory predicts that a differential effect of maternal characteristics on the fitness of sons and daughters is an important route, whereby selection is expected to favour a bias towards the production of one sex. However, despite experimental evidence for adaptive brood sex-ratio manipulation, support for this prediction remains a major challenge in vertebrates where inconsistencies between correlative studies are frequently reported. Here, we used a large dataset (2215 nestlings over 3 years) from a wild population of tree swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ) and show that variations in breeding conditions affect female sex allocation in this species. Our results also suggest that such variation in sex allocation, owing to breeding season heterogeneity, modifies the relationships between maternal characteristics and maternal investment. Indeed, we detect a positive effect of maternal age on brood sex-ratio when age also affects offspring condition (in a low-quality breeding season). Our results indicate that including measures of both breeding season quality and maternal investment will help to better understand sex allocation patterns.

scholarly journals Are human natal sex ratio differences across the world adaptive? A test of Fisher's principle

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Douhard ◽  
Stéphane Dray
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Spatial Autocorrelation ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Childhood Mortality ◽  
High Resource ◽  
Sex Allocation Theory ◽  
Fisher’S Principle

Fisher's principle states that natural selection favours an equal number of male and female births at the population level, unless there are sex differences in rearing costs or sex differences in mortality before the end of the period of parental investment. Sex differences in rearing costs should be more pronounced in low- than in high-resource settings. We, therefore, examined whether human development index and sex differences in child mortality contribute to the natural variation in human sex ratio at birth across the globe. As predicted by Fisher's principle, the proportion of male births increased with both increasing male-biased childhood mortality and level of development of each country. However, these relationships were absent after accounting for spatial autocorrelation in the residuals, which our inference is conditioned on. This work shows how the failure to account for residual spatial autocorrelation can lead to incorrect conclusions regarding support for predictions from sex allocation theory.

scholarly journals Sex Chromosome Meiotic Drive in Stalk-Eyed Flies

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (3) ◽  
pp. 1169-1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daven C Presgraves ◽  
Emily Severance ◽  
Gerald S Willrinson
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Genetic Modifiers ◽  
Ratio Distortion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sex Ratio Distortion

Meiotically driven sex chromosomes can quickly spread to fixation and cause population extinction unless balanced by selection or suppressed by genetic modifiers. We report results of genetic analyses that demonstrate that extreme female-biased sex ratios in two sister species of stalk-eyed flies, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni and C. whitei, are due to a meiotic drive element on the X chromosome (Xd). Relatively high frequencies of Xd in C. dalmanni and C. whitei (13–17% and 29%, respectively) cause female-biased sex ratios in natural populations of both species. Sex ratio distortion is associated with spermatid degeneration in male carriers of Xd. Variation in sex ratios is caused by Y-linked and autosomal factors that decrease the intensity of meiotic drive. Y-linked polymorphism for resistance to drive exists in C. dalmanni in which a resistant Y chromosome reduces the intensity and reverses the direction of meiotic drive. When paired with Xd, modifying Y chromosomes (Ym) cause the transmission of predominantly Y-bearing sperm, and on average, production of 63% male progeny. The absence of sex ratio distortion in closely related monomorphic outgroup species suggests that this meiotic drive system may predate the origin of C. whitei and C. dalmanni. We discuss factors likely to be involved in the persistence of these sex-linked polymorphisms and consider the impact of Xd on the operational sex ratio and the intensity of sexual selection in these extremely sexually dimorphic flies.

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